Only on race day for me. I just make sure that I fit in them a month out 
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Really nice race! Too bad about the timing of your illness. I would love to do that race and I’ve hear Wanaka is even more gorgeous. But it’s a 20h flight for me!
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Hello triathletes of TR!
I am here to have some triathlon wisdom placed upon me. I am a cyclist through and through; I started in enduro mtb, then into cyclocross, before getting into everything from road, gravel, marathon xc, and the occasional time trial. I’ve always appreciated multi-sport athleticism and figured someday I’d do an Ironman just for the challenge. I won’t go into too many details but last year someone close to me passed away, he was my boss and an avid triathlete. In good nature, we always took jabs at each other about cycling vs triathlon so I feel like it would be apt to complete an Ironman in his name (likely Ironman Canada in Penticton on August 27, 2023).
My goals are primarily in cycling with a balance of overall health. I still plan on participating in most of the local road/gravel season and transitioning into cyclocross in the fall while enjoying as much mountain biking as possible during the warmer months. I think it lends itself reasonably well with the last road race of my season being August 1st and CX season starting in September (I’m sure the first few weeks with be a write-off).
for swimming and running; I swam often as a kid and into young adulthood but never regularly and run pretty recreationally and semi-regularly when it aligns with cycling workouts, longest run to date is a half-marathon. My goal for the Ironman would just be to finish so I have no problem operating in the easy endurance range but I am competitive and will want to push myself.
My checklist of things to incorporate into my training over the next 6 months:
- regularly run throughout the season (occasionally bricks) 1-2 per week
- run a marathon (to get a feel for the distance)
- regularly train in the TT position (I have performed a 90km TT before)
- semi-regularly swim (my concerns are to practice open water and make sure I know how to pace myself)
- simulate a half ironman sometime in June.
My background:
- I am 28 (29 on race day), have no kids, and my girlfriend is a marathon runner to train with me so this is likely the most time I will ever have to do this.
- I am a cat 2 cyclist (cat 1 is reserved for pro contracts in Canada) so I don’t need to race for upgrade points anymore. I have handpicked 2 gravel races, and 2 road races this season so I should have space for training weekends.
- In the past, I have done multi-day ultra-endurance bike trips and a single-day 15-hour ride so if I am not being naive I think the biggest shock for me will be the change of disciplines.
My questions for you all are:
- Does anybody else have experience with keeping a cycling focus in preparation for an Ironman? I know it’s not exactly reasonable to be great at both sports but my goal is to be conditioned well enough to push through and not hurt myself.
- With no real triathlon experience does simulating a half seem like a good call?
- I have access to a TT bike that fits me, and I have an aero helmet, bike kit, and running gear. Are there other pieces of kit that would be viewed as “must haves”? I do not mind being slow in transition so I will plan to use as much of my cycling gear as possible. Already have a tri-watch.
Any and all input is very much appreciated! Sorry for the long post but I figured as much information I can provide as possible will provide the best context!! Thanks!!
That’s smoking fast swim times!
Sounds like ITBS. If it is, what healed mine was lifting. Squats and deadlifts 2x per week, and it was gone after 4-6 wks or so
I am sorry for your loss.
You’re already in the top tear of cycling in triathlon. Focus time on swimming bc that’s what gives 1st timers the most trouble. If you like, you can always post a video for analysis, either here or the swim video thread.
You’ll have to hold back on the bike. Being strong on the bike will help you but you’ll have to let go of the mindset of hammering the bike and reserving energy for the run.
Don’t worry too much about the run. You’ll probably end up walking half the run anyways. And if your goal is just finish, you’ll have plenty of time. They give you ample time for finishing. But I think you’ll actually do really well.
Not sure why i am tagged in here, but i gather training update?
First Tri thi syear and have friends doing Pentincton BC this fall. I have registered for worlds police fire games in winnipeg this year (olympic distance). “ease” into it but i am not one to just go slow. i am doing the TR Half distance LV starting the build tomorrow.
2 other events is end of June and 2 weeks after WPFG event. so far this year:
bike - 32hrs
run - 5.5 hrs
swim - 1125m - yup gotta get into pool.
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Thanks for the insight, I think I am most nervous for the run since it’s the most unknown and I will be the most fatigued. I’ll definitely start upping my run volume. I was thinking I’ll keep the intensity in my training on the bike and focus on both run and swim base but definitely get some time in the pool and remind myself how to swim haha
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Hot take: Don’t (you won’t)
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Thanks, it’s been a focus the last couple of years to make improvements, so it’s nice to see them come. The end goal has been a 29:59.99 70.3 swim, but that eluded me last year.
I’ve had ITBS before and this feels different. When foam rolling, I’ve been unable to find any trigger points on the outside of my leg and this pain hasn’t propagated down to the knee. The pain has been hyper-localized in the upper rear of the hip (top of the butt/bottom of the back), around where the gluteus medius attaches to iliac crest. A month off of squat’s (some body weight, some goblet), single leg dead lifts, good mornings, monster walks, Fondas, etc hasn’t helped. We’ll see what the Ortho says tomorrow.
Sorry for the long post, but I’ve got lots of unorganized thoughts and I like trying to help newcomers to the sport.
What does this mean? Was this playing in the pool from friends (what I call not-drowning) or was this swimming laps in an organized environment where you were in the pool for hours a week? There’s a big difference between the two. Please don’t underestimate how much energy it takes out of you “not drowning” for 2.4 miles uses. It has knock on effects in the bike and ultimately the run. Being a better swimmer isn’t about saving 5 minutes on the swim, it’s starting the bike fresh and about saving an hour on the run.
Please don’t. The open marathon and the IM marathon have very little in common. If you want to know what the IM run will feel like, ride for 4 hours at IM pace w/ 60-90 minute run off at the end of a good week of training. Another option is a 1hr swim followed by 5hr bike Saturday and then 1hr swim followed by a 2.5-3/18-20 mi run Sunday (again at the end of a normal week of training). Both will be more applicable than a stand alone marathon and easier to recover from.
Don’t rule out a tri-kit. The thinner tri-specific chamois is, IMO, 10x more comfortable in the TT position than standard bike bib.
You didn’t mention any swim gear.
Goggles. Try a bunch until you find ones that fit well and don’t leak.
Wetsuit, while not required, is always nice to have. If you’re renting or borrowing (what I’d recommend), sleeveless suits are more forgiving in fit.
Speedo/Jammers. Needed for training and and the swim on race day.
It’s a good idea. Most people will do a 70.3 before a full. If you decided to do an organized race, note that if you’re planning to change from swim to bike clothes in T1 and bike to run clothes in T2, most 70.3 do not have changing tents, so be prepared to do so in a porto-potty. Most full IMs will have changing tents.
In IM training, you’re biking at least 3 times a week if not 5 or 6. It won’t be a problem. However, the training tends to be less anaerobic and VO2max in nature compared to training for crits/CX. MTB tends to be VO2 up, float down (at least for me). IM training is lots of long steady Saturdays pedaling for 4hrs straight without a break. “Intensity” days tend to be long tempo, SS or Threshold intervals and would align better to long road and gravel races. The good news is long days should help your bike performance in other disciplines and at the end the end of day, the type of workout doesn’t matter as much as volume.
Fighting those competitive urges to go faster is going to be hard, especially on the bike. The IM is all about pace control. The swim is part of the warmup. The IM bike is still part of the warmup. The first 20 miles of the run are still part of the warmup. If you feel good at mile 135, you’ve done it right. Then you can push it. If you’re tired after the bike, you’ve overcooked it.
It sounds like defining and managing priorities is going to be your hardest part. You mentioned a lot of bike races in your summer and fall. Which are A races? For example, jumping from an August 27th IM into September CX races sounds awful to me if you’re wanting to peak for CX. An IM, while daunting on paper, is something that most reasonably fit people who know how to swim can complete in the 17 hour window.
An hour consult with a good tri or cycling coach would probably be money well spent. Write down your race schedule and priorities beforehand (and hopefully provided to the coach ahead of time). In the consult they’d give you some general structure the week and year. Some insights on the type (and timing) of training as well. Balancing priorities of disparate race types is where good coaches earn their money. That said, I don’t think you need a coach to come up with detailed workouts for you.
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Build your run slowly…your joints will thank you later…don’t let your huge cycling engine influence your run.
Must watch for you:
Thanks for all the input! I really appreciate it.
For swimming, I was in organized lessons that were meant to prepare you to race, dive, or water polo. I stopped going when I was 14 and never raced but it was swimming lengths and practicing various strokes. I would not say I am a very good swimmer but I know how beyond not drowning. I spent most of my summers as a teenager until I was about 20 at a lake and swam across it multiple times.
Ok, this is good insight, I can see how the two are very different things. The impact of the run has me nervous since it’s so different from the demands of cycling. Sounds like unless you are very well conditioned the run is primarily determined by how well you paced yourself the rest of the day.
Yea I’ve heard the wet suits can be quite expensive so I would probably look to rent if it’s an option.
I think the training could be quite fun, I am still working my way towards to pointy end of the cat 2 field and think I need a stronger aerobic base to hang with the fastest around here. So the long tempo days I think would lend well into building a higher floor potentially supporting my cycling goals in future seasons more so than this season.
Yea I was looking at aiming for a 0.67 IF for the bike leg which seemed pretty low but I know eventually it would catch up with me. So there is probably no “too easy” when approaching this for the first time.
I think this is my biggest challenge, if the IM was my sole focus I think I could do the training and give it a pretty good shot but unfortunately, I still feel like the personal goals lie in cycling. I want to respect the distance of an IM and I’m starting to wonder if I should do a half this season and do it well rather than just survive a full. The effort of a full feels like a more meaningful challenge to do as a dedication but there is something potentially more rewarding if I know I was able to give it a proper effort.
Calendar at the moment is:
- Gravel race (B) June 18
- Gravel race (A) July 22
- Road race (B) August 5
The schedule is sparse for mtb events so everything else will be more on a whim at the moment. CX seasons is usually a big focus for me. Last year was my first year at nationals in the elite field. Not really competitive but hoping to improve.
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I have seen this! Definitely good to see a cyclist get pretty destroyed by a triathlon! I do agree with his point of view though, I think an Ironman is a better event than an Everest.
There are some really great replies to your post.
0.67 is not too low! The difference between 0.67 and 0.7 might be 5-10 min on the bike leg. If you overcook the bike, the difference is 2-3 hours. It’s very humbling when you have to walk the last 16 miles of the run and all that run training is wasted because you overcook the bike. It’s ok to even go 0.6-0.65
As for wetsuits, I don’t find any difference between any of the brands. I’ve had 3. They’re all the same. My favorite actually has been the cheapest of the 3. Synergy wetsuits, 2 piece sleeveless. It’s good and it’s cheap.
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0.65 IFs a good target for a first IM. I heard this somewhere I forget, but let’s say you are expecting a 6hr ride and a 4 hr marathon - ride the bike paced as though it’s a 10hr ride.
Not scientifically correct but I think it’s a good mindset. Gets you away from the three-distinct-sports mindset and into triathlon too.
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Decent month low volume but high quality
Swim 33K yards pace is getting faster.
Bike 280 miles
Run 80 miles with a 10 day break between runs due to calf/achillies tightness
Strength/Yoga 4:45 hours
Shamrock Half Marathon March 19, need to talk with my coach to determine how we should approach this. Go for win and or PR, or is it a slightly rested workout?
After the half it is time to increase distance and intensity. Currently swimming three times a week, bumping up to four times. Two to three bikes going to four with 1-2 ROTBs. Run frequency is good just going to add my distance to the long runs.
My nutrition has been slacking, I just returned from a work convention in San Antonio so today is the start of trying to eliminate the unnecssary calories.
My Christmas present to myself was courtesy of the Roka sale
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What happened to February?! Hard to believe it flew by like that and it’s time for another roll call.
February was a shit show for me mentally. I have struggled with depression off and on for years in pretty predictable cycles and it hit me again last month. Short, cold days really ground me down and didn’t help. Overall, only missed a few days completely thankfully.
A few highlights: PR in the 5k, 100/200/500 yard swim times, and FTP is predicted to have risen another 10 watts. VO2 and threshold plus work did me well across the board. Now I am transitioning to threshold and SST focus in the lead-up to USAT duathlon champs. Just over a month to go
My weight did climb from 152 to 157ish which I will chalk up to stress and a little to do with muscle gain. Performances are improving even with the weight gain so it’s OK. Seems like a lot of elite triathletes are in that weight range too so I’m cool with it.
In other exciting news: my aero road bike is almost finished. It is built up finally and ready to ride, but I have the Vision Metron 5d integrated road bars and a Tri Rig aero brake to still add to it. Right now, comes in at around 15 lbs but the new bars and brake will take that down more. Should be ready by the summer 
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Feb. was one of my biggest ever training month sof 60 hours which included 4 days of hiking with lots of vert, so plenty of low intensity. I also add 10min of core stability exercises and foam roller work every day. I’m still sticking with the mid-volume IM plan. I did struggle to get the third swim in or occasionally favoured the strength training over the swim as more time efficient, but figure what I lose in the swim, I will pick up on the bike and run.
10 Weeks to go until Port Macquarie IM.
Hiking 4 activites: 14.5hrs
Swimming 7 activities: 6 hours
Riding 19 activities: 25 hours
Running 13 activities: 13 hours
Strength 3 activies: 2.5hrs
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Here’s something I have adopted into my training regime which might help if you can get access to a smaller pool. If this link doesn’t work, Triathlon Coach Shows Cheap DIY Swim Tether - BPC Performance Coaching - YouTube google BPC performance coaching DIY swim tether. I made up a set for my home pool and I’ve done 80min sessions just like I would in the pool or open water.
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Fun looking bike. I’ve always wondered how some tri-bikes
Is it just the photo angle or is your BTS bottle angled downward? Have you had launched bottle issues with it?
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